I have a feeling Amazon's point of view is along the lines of "If we let this guy get money, it will encourage people to game the system"
Also, "If he sues we can bog him down in legal crap for 10 years"
Amazon should just see what his rate of sales had been before and offer him some amount based what expected sales would have been during that time. Plus a little.
It's not companies regulating themselves that people want.
It's the Markets (i.e. people, who comprise the markets) that should be regulating the companies.
If you notice, it's indeed the government that's being used against the customer in this case (e.g. laws in place that punish him for no reason)
In reality, the company should be completely liable for any and all bad things that happen from this horrible 'security'. No limits. That is how a market regulates itself - not by passing laws, but punishing a company if they are shitty, instead of using laws to shield themselves.
A business guy who is way more involved with these things said it "seemed almost certain" from the turn of events that the only reason Netflix would have for splitting it's business in half was to sell it - specifically to Amazon.
Due to some bumbling, stock price fell to half and the buyer backed out.
Whether true or not, it's an interesting explanation, to be sure.
Regardless, they have a crap-load of competition on the horizon, so they better figure out something fast.
what you are failing to understand is that there is lots and lots of good content that doesn't come from "big content"
Not to mention the cost of producing content has dropped dramatically over the last decade - just look at how good some homemade youtube videos are.
This is one case where the competition is crazy, and there are insane numbers of competitors. Based on that alone, The current high price model can't last forever. All they can do is prolong it a few years, but eventually it will come crashing down.
Increased numbers of cord cutters will facilitate this process. As the current young generation becomes adults, they will know instinctively how overpriced some of the content costs them. The current models will not survive that.
I think the problem with the Disney movies is the standard 'Disney Vault' bullshit - they pull movies out for 10 years or more at a time, and don't allow sales OR rentals of any of them. Sometimes they let them go onto tv...
He's referring to the fact that under US law, a corporation is considered a 'person' (with some exceptions)
(from wiki)
1 U.S.C. §1 (United States Code) which states:
In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise-- the words "person" and "whoever" include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals;
I've always kinda wondered about this, so the article was enlightening. However, to me the important caveat is the final paragraph of the analysis:
So when it comes to Buffett's statement, there are two categories: the rich and the really rich. And the evidence tends to point to the conclusion that the really rich pay less in taxes as a percentage of income then their merely well-to-do counterparts -- if their income comes primarily from investments. Overall, we rate Buffett's statement True.
Which means he's still paying a higher percentage than me.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that this significantly lowers the detection accuracy, both false-positives and false-negatives, of the very underwear bombs these things were meant to detect.
Good move on their part - who will complain when they are told they were pulled out of line because the machine detected an 'abnormally large protrusion' in their underwear?
When I first learned of the price increase, my immediate thought was that it was the work of content owners wanting to kill Netflix.
Mine too.
If in fact that was true, it would be nice if someone from the company 'leaked' it.
Time Warner Cable has been running ads all summer for their On-Demand movies, saying how they get them 30 days before Netflix and Redbox. Makes me mad every time I see one.
Of course, I wouldn't ever pay $4 to watch a movie that way over their p.o.s. cable box, just to see it a month sooner.
I figured sooner or later, either Netflix would cave and want to offer things up immediately, or the studios would just decide to not renew contracts when they were up - I'm guessing one or the other finally occurred.
Re: Not sure this was outrage by those in attendance
Most people are not willing to take a stand that will land them in jail. Most people fear the police enough to not attempt something like apprehending a cop.
What if no one else joins in? What happens when the 20 other cops in the building get called in? How about when they get your face from the video and then come arrest you at home later on, where the odds are in their favor?
Those are the sorts of things that would come to my mind in this sort of situation.
At least they appeared to not be beating him - that might have swayed emotions over the brink.
Notice how to get around the 1st amendment, the cop thinks all he needs to do is say "I can arrest you for not following a direct order"
On the post: Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against eBay Because Of The Way Its Auctions Work
Re:
However, as the basic premise can take many forms, I feel there's plenty of value in calling attention to the different forms.
The more times one is exposed to all the variations in an idea, the easier it is to spot them on one's own.
On the post: OpenDNS Tells Congress Not To Create The Great Firewall Of America
Re:
On the post: Despite Publisher Apprehension, Good Old Games Proves A Market For Old DRM-Free Games Exists
Re: Re: Re: Good to see
It's the service of removing the DRM and making it work with a new OS so I don't have to think about anything other than playing.
That is worth $3, easy.
On the post: Are There Any Legal Issues If Amazon Accidentally Gives Away Thousands Of Your Ebooks For Free?
How hard is it to fool their algorithm?
Also, "If he sues we can bog him down in legal crap for 10 years"
Amazon should just see what his rate of sales had been before and offer him some amount based what expected sales would have been during that time. Plus a little.
On the post: What's The Most Expensive WiFi You've Seen?
Re:
I remember when this was funny.
On the post: TSA Decides Terrorists Must Be Driving; Partners With Tenn. Law Enforcement To Randomly Search Vehicles
I see something suspicious...
Who can I report that to?
On the post: TSA Decides Terrorists Must Be Driving; Partners With Tenn. Law Enforcement To Randomly Search Vehicles
Re:
You: I don't consent to your search!
Them: Only people who have something to hide say that! Now we have probable cause!
Although in court they just say you were "acting suspicious"
On the post: Company Thanks Guy Who Alerted Them To Big Security Flaw By Sending The Cops... And The Bill
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
It's the Markets (i.e. people, who comprise the markets) that should be regulating the companies.
If you notice, it's indeed the government that's being used against the customer in this case (e.g. laws in place that punish him for no reason)
In reality, the company should be completely liable for any and all bad things that happen from this horrible 'security'. No limits. That is how a market regulates itself - not by passing laws, but punishing a company if they are shitty, instead of using laws to shield themselves.
On the post: US Postal Service Sends Postage Due Bill To Guy Who Put Block Party Invites Into Neighbors' Mailboxes
Re: Re: Re: Who owns mailboxes?
I don't see why you couldn't put up a UPS box, but who knows - maybe the papers have to pay a licensing fee or some other such nonsense.
I'd like to see someone put up a no-mail box, and then cause a stink when the usps puts somethin in it..
On the post: Netflix Kills Qwikster Before It Has A Chance To Live
buyout fall-through?
Due to some bumbling, stock price fell to half and the buyer backed out.
Whether true or not, it's an interesting explanation, to be sure.
Regardless, they have a crap-load of competition on the horizon, so they better figure out something fast.
On the post: Time Warner Cable CEO Remains In Denial About Cord Cutting
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Not to mention the cost of producing content has dropped dramatically over the last decade - just look at how good some homemade youtube videos are.
This is one case where the competition is crazy, and there are insane numbers of competitors. Based on that alone, The current high price model can't last forever. All they can do is prolong it a few years, but eventually it will come crashing down.
Increased numbers of cord cutters will facilitate this process. As the current young generation becomes adults, they will know instinctively how overpriced some of the content costs them. The current models will not survive that.
On the post: Crazy Coincidence, Plagiarism, Or An Obvious Idea For An Electric Car Ad?
Re: maybe they read the same small-town paper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQjr1YL0zg
On the post: Massive Exodus From Netflix Over Fee Increase
Re: Re: Re: Re: Disingenuous
On the post: Indie Game Developer Posts Game on Pirate Bay, Sees Positive Results
Not piracy
But of course, if you just replace 'piracy' with 'free copies' your post is still perfectly valid.
On the post: Canadian Pharmacies React To US Gov't Taking $500 Million From Google Over Their Ads
Re:
They allowed the pharm companies to jack up prices above market value; so of course people found a way to circumvent it.
Now we name that a 'loophole' so we can demonize it, then create a few more laws to 'close' it.
Rinse, repeat.
On the post: Canadian Pharmacies React To US Gov't Taking $500 Million From Google Over Their Ads
Re: Re: Drug Companies
(from wiki)
1 U.S.C. §1 (United States Code) which states:
In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise-- the words "person" and "whoever" include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals;
On the post: DailyDirt: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
On the Buffett thing...
Which means he's still paying a higher percentage than me.
On the post: TSA Agrees To Take The Naked Out Of Naked Scanners
Re: Likely fail
Good move on their part - who will complain when they are told they were pulled out of line because the machine detected an 'abnormally large protrusion' in their underwear?
On the post: Killing The Golden Goose: Is Hollywood To Blame For Netflix's Poorly Thought Out Massive Price Hike?
Re: Re: Let's wait and see...
Mine too.
If in fact that was true, it would be nice if someone from the company 'leaked' it.
Time Warner Cable has been running ads all summer for their On-Demand movies, saying how they get them 30 days before Netflix and Redbox. Makes me mad every time I see one.
Of course, I wouldn't ever pay $4 to watch a movie that way over their p.o.s. cable box, just to see it a month sooner.
I figured sooner or later, either Netflix would cave and want to offer things up immediately, or the studios would just decide to not renew contracts when they were up - I'm guessing one or the other finally occurred.
On the post: Two Reporters Arrested For Daring To Photograph/Videotape Public DC Taxi Commission Meeting
Re: Not sure this was outrage by those in attendance
What if no one else joins in? What happens when the 20 other cops in the building get called in? How about when they get your face from the video and then come arrest you at home later on, where the odds are in their favor?
Those are the sorts of things that would come to my mind in this sort of situation.
At least they appeared to not be beating him - that might have swayed emotions over the brink.
Notice how to get around the 1st amendment, the cop thinks all he needs to do is say "I can arrest you for not following a direct order"
Citizens are a lower class than the Police.
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